Overlooked
by Fragile-Strength
Summary: Hundred upon hundreds of people stood, in the same uniforms with the same grim smiles.
1. Sacred

Author's Note://My first non-ship fic! Huzzah! This is a Libby centered fic, incase you haven't figured it out yet, & it basically fills in all the holes of her backstory that the writer's left, with a couple of twists and turns along the way. I have a good number of the major twists planned out, but suggestions are always welcome, and reviews earn you brownie points! So, without further words, the first chapter of 'Overlooked.'

Chapter One; Sacred

"Elizabeth? Elizabeth!"

Amelia smiled softly, shaking her head as she peeked into yet another room. She wasn't ever quite sure why she called for her - Amelia knew Elizabeth would never respond. It had just become a habit, Amelia supposed. Her wandering around the house, calling Elizabeth's name, making a point of checking the doorway of the room she knew Elizabeth was in last, just to give her enough time to do whatever it was she wanted to do while Amelia was busy checking the other forty-one rooms of the house.

And finally there she was, a eight year old girl hurrying to scribble out a few last words on her notepad, surround in three colors of stained glass in every shade, a few yellow rose petals in her hair, before turning to face Amelia grumpily, blonde ponytail swinging, sending those rose petals flying.

"You've checked all of them already? Can't you go any slower?"

Elizabeth smiled as Amelia laughed; they both knew very well how slowly Amelia walked, how often she dawdled, pausing to swipe a finger across a perfectly dusted banister and demand it re-cleaned, with her constant supervision, of course.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth, I went as slow as I possibly could. But, Al wants you down for dinner this very instant - er, rather, forty-one very instants ago."

Amelia's attempt at a joke fell flat and Libby drew herself lazily to her feet, pausing to stretch and carefully lock her notebook away, leaving it underneath the trellis as always before, with an air of dread, turning towards Amelia.

"If we really must go, then let's go."

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Elizabeth couldn't believe she was going to leave this house. She had spent the first twelve years of her life here, and she knew she would always consider it home; her first home, her best home. Who were her parents to rip her out of this beautiful house at such a tender age? To go live on a deserted island, no less? But of course, Elizabeth reminded herself dully. She was a Hanso - her parents were Hansos. The filthy rich family that invested it's money in everything thing that crossed their line of vision and looked flashy, expensive and risky enough to hold their attention for at least a month. At most two.

But this, her father swore, this was the one. The one that was it, that was actually going to help them make money instead of help them lose it. This was the one that would imprint the family name in the history of the world forever more, instead of just dieing out as they did, a mere passing fad. This, Elizabeth's father was sure, was going to be the one that was worth all the trouble.

And that was why, Elizabeth knew, her life was being completely and totally uprooted, and she was being forced to leave behind everything that mattered to her, save P and Amelia.

Lazily she trailed through the house, stepping into every room, looking out every window, gently closing and locking every door as she left. Perhaps she was getting to melodramatic, she mused, but then couldn't help but add, perhaps she wasn't getting melodramatic enough. Her tour ended at her favorite room, and Elizabeth held back from it for a moment, a soft smile playing at the corners of her lips as she watched the setting sun flash against the stained glass.

Her favorite room was the pool room, the most mysterious, least used room in the house. Or perhaps she loved the doorway the best, and what was beyond it didn't matter at all; and now as she thought about it, Elizabeth was sure that was probably it. In fact, that was right. How could she know whether the room was wonderful if she'd never even entered it? The door was guarded by an inexplicably placed trellis, arching high over the top of the door and down over the other side, entangled with thorny yellow roses that had so often made her bleed. The doorway was intriguing, made of the kind of glass you often saw in chapel windows in startling shades of red, green and black you, in contrast, didn't often see. The glass itself was placed without a particular pattern but often showed her things, a well-placed polar bear here and perhaps an octagon there. Elizabeth couldn't explain why this doorway was so important, so fascinating to her and she didn't try, because there really was no point to it when all she had to do was reach out and push the door open to see where it led.

Elizabeth had always somehow known it simply wouldn't be right to open that door and enter the pool room. Somehow that room was sacred, and somehow it shouldn't be seen. Because it was special, and even she didn't deserve to enter a room like that, even she who was so in-tune with things of such fascinating caliber. One would think after twelve years of living in a house all rooms would be well gone through and occupied, and Elizabeth supposed it was different. But it had never been entered by a Hanso - the realtor had told them the pool was nearly beyond repair and if they wanted to use the room, they would have to pull out the pool and reset the concrete, but neither Alvar nor Candell had gotten around to it. And P had never bothered, so it was up to Elizabeth to be the first and only Hanso to enter the room… But she knew better than the rest. She knew it was special.

A small part of her wanted to enter it now, knowing she would never see the room again, but that part was overpowered by the part that desperately wanted to keep her hope in tact and not be disappointed. So with a small sly smile, Elizabeth gently lay down her notebook just beneath the highest point of the trellis and carefully reached over and slid the skeleton key into the keyhole on the stained glass door. With a short twist, the system clicked into place and, as Elizabeth slid the key into her back pocket and walked amiably towards the front door, she knew the secret was safe with her.

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Disclaimer://(Only listing things actively used in this chapter.) In this chapter I do not own; Amelia, Elizabeth, The Hansos as a family, or the deserted island the Hansos are moving to. I do, however, own; The nickname 'P', the nickname 'Al', the name Candell (can - DELL), the pool room, & the door to the pool room. Please no using the latter without my permission & credit. Don't forget to review! 


	2. Namaste

Chapter Two; Namaste

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"Oh, Elizabeth, it's so beautiful! You're going to love it!"

Elizabeth jerked awake, green eyes flying open in fear before her breathing calmed and she realized where she was. Blinking one, twice, she paused to wipe the sleep out of her eyes, before her younger sister finally slid into focus. She, at least, appeared to be enjoying herself, twirling fancifully in the narrow space between their beds, dirty blonde hair flying in the tornado she had created.

"Amelia's already taken me up to see it!"

"Why didn't you wake me, P?"

"It wasn't my decision." Elizabeth's flighty sister finally lighted on the edge of Elizabeth's bed, one dark eyebrow arched in excitement and hope. "Amelia wanted to let you sleep - she said you haven't been the same since we left. She says you miss the house. I didn't know you could miss something that wasn't alive."

P was constantly entertaining, if nothing else, what with her constant questions and childish concerns. Elizabeth yawned and stretched lazily as she sat up, pulling bare legs up against her chest, and resting her chin atop her knees. "It's not a big deal; I just imagined growing old and grey in that house, is all. I'll get over it. I can always go back to it when I move away, right?"

P suddenly appeared nervous, smoothing out the plaits in her skirt. She chewed her bottom lip and averted her eyes, and Elizabeth waited patiently for her to speak up with what was eating at her. Several moments passed, and she didn't, so Elizabeth cleared her throat pointedly. P ignored this attempt at conversation, so Elizabeth sighed noisily and spoke.

"What's the matter, P?"

"I… It wasn't my decision!" P repeated, apparently her phrase for the day. "I don't want it, oh, I don't know why he's giving it to me! Really, I don't! And, oh, Elizabeth, I don't want, it! I want you to have it! Fifteen years… I'm going to be here, in this new house we're moving to for fifteen whole years, Elizabeth, and Daddy says it's a great big mansion, just like our old house, and by the time I'm twenty-one I'll want something different! I'll want to see the world, Elizabeth, go places I've never been before, not back to that stuffy old house!"

It took Elizabeth a while to figure out what, exactly, P was trying to say, but eventually she sorted it out, and as she visibly drooped, P noticed and hastily closed her mouth, whereas Elizabeth took it as an opportunity to speak up. "He's giving you the house, isn't he?"

P nodded gravely. "I know how much you love it, Elizabeth, and I'm so sorry… While you were asleep, he already told me that I couldn't give it to you… I'm so sorry, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth gave a small smile, sighed softly and, still trying to get the sleep out of her eyes, looked wearily up at her sister. "It's okay, P, don't feel bad. There'll be other houses, but I'll never have another P, right?"

P giggled. "Nope. I'm your one and only P."

---

Elizabeth had expected to simply climb out of the top of the submarine, listen to her father chatter with the head of the project about how amazingly well the whole project was going, and then head to their new home, perhaps for a shower.

She should have known things weren't going to be that blessedly normal by her Candell's small gasp of surprise as soon as her head peeked over the top of the submarine hatch, but Elizabeth disregarded it as something small and insignificant like the breaking fingernail, or perhaps a startlingly cool breeze. She quickly scampered up the ladder after her mother, and leant over to help P up, without even glancing towards land. Why bother? She'd be looking at it and nothing but it for years to come; there was plenty of time to look later.

P, though, did not waste any time in looking towards land, and let at a small gasp of surprise much like that of Mrs. Candell Hanso as soon as P could see land clearly.

"What is it, P?" Elizabeth asked, still bent over, flicking her hair out of the way and, in the process catching a glimpse of land. Nervously, she straightened and side-stepped towards her mother, swallowing thickly, paying her sister who was still struggling to get out of the hatch no heed.

"Wow," she managed.

Hundreds upon hundreds of people stood, in the same uniforms with the same grim smiles. They stared blankly up at the family of four standing on the dock, just as the Hansos stared blankly back. For a moment there was no sound, as the new stared at the old, and the old at the new, before finally, one man walked slowly up the long dock and towards them. He greeted them with a short nod of his head, before turning on his heel and motioning the Hansos after him. They filed after him, Alvar, then Candell, then Elizabeth then P as was the proper ranking order, and therefore Alvar was the first one to be greeted.

"Welcome, Mr. Alvar Grey Hanso, namaste and good luck."

With this greeting, there was a lei slipped over his neck and wordlessly, another man pulled out a syringe and wordlessly injected Alvar, before giving him a small smile and waving him on. Mr. Hanso didn't flinch.

The look in Candell's eyes told Elizabeth that she, too, hadn't been informed of this odd ceremony, but she took it like she did, with only a quick flutter of the eyelashes as her only indication that she had felt anything.

"Welcome, Mrs. Candell Marie Hanso, namaste and good luck."

Next came Elizabeth and she held her breath as a member of Dharma slipped a lei over her neck.

"Welcome, Miss. Elizabeth May Hanso, namaste and good luck."

Elizabeth flinched when the needle entered the delicate skin of the crook of her arm, and gasped as the burning liquid wound it's way through her blood stream.

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End file.
